I am fully aware of just how much the Norfolk Broads means to so many people. I have met hundreds of people who have been coming here for decades and since they were children too.
Jeremy Clarkson referred to it as a swamp and he is quite right but it is one of the best swamps. It is a gem in Great Britain and one that many have heard of but so few have actually been to and that includes local residents too.
So having been so lucky to spend so much time on the Norfolk Broads, I must confess it does have a special place in my own consciousness too.

mysterious, marvellous landscape

So to hear of it being nominated in the BBC Countryfile’s National Park of the Year awards is of no surprise at all. Even in the top five apparently.

with a quarter of the country’s rarest wildlife

He said the Broads was under pressure from climate change and rising sea levels and correct management of the region was critical to its future.

Jeremy Clarkson may have classed the Broads as a "swamp" but I have an opinion of Jeremy Clarkson which is not even printable on this free speech forum. He is probably the cause of irresponsible thick headed boy racers who try to emulate his pathetic antics which are performed on private roads and airfields. The trouble is that the emulation is done on our public roads and people are killed and injured.

I celebrated when the BBC sacked him.

By the way, the Broads is not a National Park! Why should it be a finalist?